By EARYEL BOWLEG and DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Staff Reporters

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis dismissed concerns that the government’s dispute with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) undermines investor confidence and suggested that investors already lacked interest in the island.

His comments came as some GBPA licensees in Grand Bahama lamented the tension between the government and the GBPA.

“Look at what is happening in the country,” Mr Davis told reporters after a walkabout of East Bay Street. “We have billions of dollars in the pipeline already agreed to and more about to come.”

“If it’s going to destroy investors confidence, why are they still coming? The number of projects I still have on my desk to talk about and to deal with are astronomical. The challenge, why is this capital not being attracted to Freeport?

“It’s being attracted in Exuma, being attracted to Cat Island, it’s being attracted to Abaco, to Bimini, to the cays and the Exumas. Why not Grand Bahama, and that’s just the question we have to answer.

“If investor confidence has been shaken, why do we still have all the interest to invest in The Bahamas as a whole, not in Grand Bahama in particular.”

The Davis administration sent a demand letter to the GBPA, giving it 30 days to pay $357m allegedly owed to the government over the last five fiscal years for public services it has provided. Mr Davis said arbitration proceedings would begin if the GBPA failed to pay.

The authority dismissed the demand as ill-founded, arguing that Freeport’s $200m annual tax revenues far exceed what the government invests in the city.

Mr Davis discussed the government’s demands for the GBPA during a meet- ing with 16 licensees on Saturday.

D’s Car Rental owner Darren Cooper believes the administration has not consulted enough of the 3,000 licensees in Freeport, saying he was offended by the limited representation during Saturday’s meeting.

“I did everything within my power to find out how I could get on the list,” he said. “I was very taken aback when I was told no one could be added to the list.”

Mr Cooper believes the Davis administrtion’s monetary demand adversely impacts licensees and those paying service charges in Freeport.

“My question is why, prime minister, are you refusing to meet with the wider community of Grand Bahama, in particular those licensees who requested a meeting with you almost a year ago?” he asked.

“We are the ones being requested to pay this bill by the government, not LUSCO, not GB Util- ity, not the Haywards or St Georges. It is coming at the management of the city of Freeport, everything raised for the management, including licence fees and service charges used to maintain the city.”

Sarah Kirkby, the CEO of Barefoot Marketing and Locations, is among those who believe the government’s battle with the GBPA will harm investor confidence.

“With everything going so well, with Carnival and Weller Development and the Shipyard, and the good news about the airport, it concerns me about what other people are going to think coming in here,” she said.

“Our island is poised for development, and it relies on the good relationship between the government and the GBPA. It is disheartening to see this break down this way.”

“Just randomly saying that amount of money sounds like we are not paying our way. We have worked hard to put money into the coffers of the government through immigration, customs and road license taxes. We have no idea how much that actually is because there is no accounting given to the people about that.”

Ms Kirkby, who is a member of the Freeport Licensee Association and the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce, was also disappointed that the president of the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce was not invited to Saturday’s meeting.

Attorney Kirk Antoni, meanwhile, urged the government to release the report outlining the money the GBPA allegedly owes the government and produce an accounting of revenue that Freeport has generated during the same period.

“It is unfortunate that the people who live in Nassau and the Family Islands who never worked and lived in Freeport do not know how Freeport operates,” he said. “It is a completely different entity than living in Nassau, and they make these wild accusations.”